More Queenslanders now back Labor opposition over Campbell Newman’s LNP Government, according to latest Newspoll

MORE Queenslanders now back the Labor Opposition over Campbell Newman’s Liberal National Party government, the latest Newspoll shows.

The poll, published today in The Australian, has Labor ahead of the LNP for the first time since Mr Newman led the party to a staggering victory in 2012.

The LNP is trailing Labor by 49 per cent to 51 per cent, on a two-party preferred basis. That’s a swing against the Government of almost 14 percentage points since the election just over two years ago.

Primary support for the LNP has also plunged from the 49.7 per cent support it received at the March 2012 election to just 32 per cent, including an 8 per cent fall since the previous Newspoll in March this year, the paper reports.

But it’s not the Labor Party that’s drawing primary support away from the LNP.

The Opposition’s primary support is also down by 2 per cent, to 34 per cent, in the past three months, with support instead flowing to the independents, to a lesser extent Clive Palmer’s Palmer United Party.

Mr Newman’s personal popularity is also on the slide, plunging from a peak of 43 per cent in March last year.

Just a third of voters are now satisfied with his performance in the job, and 57 per cent of the 1135 voters who were polled said they were dissatisfied with his efforts.

But Labor leader Annastacia Palaszczuk has also gone backwards, with the number of voters satisfied with her performance as opposition leader down three points to 35 per cent.

Her dissatisfaction level has jumped too, by seven points to 37 per cent.

There’s now little separating the pair on the question of who would make the better premier, with Mr Newman at 39 per cent, to 35 per cent for Ms Palaszczuk.

It’s the fourth successive fall in support for the Newman government in the quarterly Newspolls.

War on bikies extends to lawyers1:42

Campbell Newman's war on bikies has extended to include their lawyers. Courtesy: Nine News

June 25th 2014

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The Government has been plagued in recent months by controversy over its bikie laws, changes to legislation governing political donations and reforms to the state’s corruption watchdog.

Most recently it has faced savage criticism from many senior legal figures over its decision to appoint Chief Magistrate Tim Carmody as the state’s new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, despite him never sitting on it.

Ms Palaszczuk said the poll showed voters were fed up with the Newman Government’s attitude.

``It’s a culmination of two years of arrogance and being out of touch,’’ the opposition leader told the ABC. ``This government has failed to listen to Queenslanders.’’

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Tony Fitzgerald weighs in on the controversial appointment of Tim Carmody as Queensland's Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Courtesy: Nine News

June 30th 2014

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But Transport Minister Scott Emerson has played down the poll results, saying the LNP is the only party with a plan for Queensland’s future.

``We’re getting on with the dealing with the debt and deficit left to us by Labor,’’ he told the ABC. ``We’ve been revitalising frontline services.

``Labor’s only plan is to bring back those MPs that caused the problems in the first place.’’